Gas control knob that is operated manually or automatically

ABSTRACT

A gas control knob includes a valve body, a valve seat mounted on the valve body, a control lever movably mounted in the valve seat and movable by a pressing action to regulate a gas flow rate of the valve body, a fixing bracket mounted on the valve body, a motor mounted on the fixing bracket, a transmission mechanism mounted on the fixing bracket and driven by the motor, and a linear displacement mechanism mounted on the fixing bracket and driven by the transmission mechanism to perform a linear motion to press the control lever to regulate the gas flow rate of the valve body automatically. Thus, the gas control knob is operated and controlled automatically, thereby facilitating a user operating the gas control knob.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a gas control knob, and more particularly to a gas control knob for a gas stove or range.

2. Description of the Related Art

A conventional gas control knob for a gas stove comprises a valve body, an end cap mounted on the valve body, a throttling cock rotatably mounted in the valve body to regulate the gas flow rate, a rotation lever rotatably mounted on the end cap and connected to the throttling cock to control movement of the throttling cock so as to regulate the gas flow rate, and a handle secured on the rotation lever to rotate the rotation lever. However, the conventional gas control knob is operated manually and cannot be operated in a remote control manner, thereby wasting the manual work, and easily causing inconvenience to the user

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a gas control knob that is operated and controlled automatically, thereby facilitating a user operating the gas control knob.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide a gas control knob that is operated in a wire control manner or a remote control manner, thereby facilitating the user operating the gas control knob.

A further objective of the present invention is to provide a gas control knob that is selectively operated manually or automatically, thereby facilitating the user operating the gas control knob.

Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a gas control knob in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the gas control knob as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partially perspective view of the gas control knob as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a front plan view of the gas control knob as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side plan view of the gas control knob as shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a plan cross-sectional view of the gas control knob taken along line 6-6 as shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the gas control knob as shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a gas control knob in accordance with another preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a plan exploded view of the gas control knob as shown in FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the drawings and initially to FIGS. 1-7, a gas control knob for a gas stove in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a valve body 10 having an inside formed with a gas inlet hole (not shown) and a gas outlet hole (not shown), a valve seat 11 mounted on the valve body 10, a control lever 12 movably mounted in the valve seat 11 and movable by a pressing action to regulate a gas flow rate between the gas inlet hole and the gas outlet hole of the valve body 10, a fixing bracket 20 mounted on the valve body 10 and located above the control lever 12, a motor 30 mounted on the fixing bracket 20, a transmission mechanism 40 mounted on the fixing bracket 20 and driven by the motor 30, and a linear displacement mechanism 50 mounted on the fixing bracket 20 and driven by the transmission mechanism 40 to perform a linear motion to press the control lever 12 so as to regulate the gas flow rate between the gas inlet hole and the gas outlet hole of the valve body 10 automatically.

The fixing bracket 20 is a hollow frame encompassing the valve seat 11 and the control lever 12. The fixing bracket 20 has a bottom provided with a locking seat 21 secured to the valve body 10 by bolts (not shown). The fixing bracket 20 has a top plate provided with a bushing 22 extended to the control lever 12 and having an upper end formed with a rotation hole 23 and a lower end formed with a limit hole 24 having a dimension greater than that of the rotation hole 23. The limit hole 24 of the fixing bracket 20 has a side formed with an axially extended flattened face 242. The fixing bracket 20 has a side formed with a mounting hole 27. The fixing bracket 20 has a periphery provided with two spaced pivot ears 25 each formed with a pivot hole 26.

The motor 30 is mounted in the mounting hole 27 of the fixing bracket 20 and has a drive worm 31 protruding from the fixing bracket 20.

The transmission mechanism 40 includes a shaft 41 mounted on the fixing bracket 20, and a transmission worm 42 rotatably mounted on the shaft 41 and having an end provided with a transmission wormwheel 43 meshing with and rotated by the drive worm 31 of the motor 30. The shaft 41 of the transmission mechanism 40 is mounted between the two pivot ears 25 of the fixing bracket 20 and has two ends each mounted in the respective pivot hole 26 of the fixing bracket 20. When the motor 30 is started, the drive worm 31 is driven to rotate the transmission wormwheel 43 which rotates the transmission worm 42. Thus, the motor 30 is operated in a wire control manner or a remote control manner to drive and rotate the transmission worm 42.

The linear displacement mechanism 50 includes a movable member 54 movably mounted in the limit hole 24 of the fixing bracket 20 and movable to press or release the control lever 12, a rotation shaft 51 rotatably mounted in the rotation hole 23 of the fixing bracket 20 and having a lower end provided with a co-axial lead screw 512 screwed into the movable member 54 to drive the movable member 54 to move axially in the limit hole 24 of the fixing bracket 20 by rotation of the rotation shaft 51, a driven wormwheel 52 meshing with and rotated by the transmission worm 42, and a spring 53 mounted on the rotation shaft 51 and having a lower end secured to and driven by the driven wormwheel 52 and an upper end secured to an upper end of the rotation shaft 51 to drive and rotate the rotation shaft 51.

The upper end of the rotation shaft 51 protrudes from the bushing 22 of the fixing bracket 20 and is provided with an enlarged cover 510 and a push button 511 located above the enlarged cover 510. The driven wormwheel 52 is rested on the bushing 22 of the fixing bracket 20 and has a central portion formed with a through hole 520 rotatably mounted on the rotation shaft 51. The upper end of the spring 53 is secured to the enlarged cover 510 of the rotation shaft 51 so that the rotation shaft 51 is driven and rotated by the spring 53. The movable member 54 has an inside formed with a screw bore 540 screwed onto the lead screw 512 of the rotation shaft 51. The movable member 54 has a side formed with an axially extended flattened face 542 rested on the flattened face 242 of the limit hole 24 of the fixing bracket 20 so that the movable member 54 is limited in the limit hole 24 of the fixing bracket 20 without rotation.

A protective hood 60 is mounted on the top of the fixing bracket 20 to encompass the transmission mechanism 40 and the linear displacement mechanism 50 and has a top plate formed with a passage 61 to allow passage of the push button 511 of the rotation shaft 51.

In operation, the motor 30 is operated in a wire control manner or a remote control manner to rotate the drive worm 31 which rotates the transmission wormwheel 43 which rotates the transmission worm 42 which rotates the driven wormwheel 52 which drives the spring 53 to rotate the rotation shaft 51 which rotates the lead screw 512 which drives the movable member 54 to axially move in the limit hole 24 of the fixing bracket 20 upward or downward by rotation of the rotation shaft 51 to press or release the control lever 12 so as to regulate the gas flow rate between the gas inlet hole and the gas outlet hole of the valve body 10 automatically.

Alternatively, the push button 511 of the rotation shaft 51 is pushed downward by a user's one hand to drive the movable member 54 to move downward to press the control lever 12 so as to regulate the gas flow rate between the gas inlet hole and the gas outlet hole of the valve body 10 manually. At this time, the driven wormwheel 52 is not moved with the rotation shaft 51, and the displacement is absorbed by the spring 53.

Accordingly, the gas control knob is selectively operated manually or automatically, thereby facilitating a user operating the gas control knob.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, the push button 511 of the rotation shaft 51 is removed, so that the gas control knob is operated automatically.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment(s) as mentioned above, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claim or claims will cover such modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the invention. 

1. A gas control knob, comprising: a valve body; a valve seat mounted on the valve body; a control lever movably mounted in the valve seat and movable by a pressing action to regulate a gas flow rate of the valve body; a fixing bracket mounted on the valve body and located above the control lever; a motor mounted on the fixing bracket; a transmission mechanism mounted on the fixing bracket and driven by the motor; a linear displacement mechanism mounted on the fixing bracket and driven by the transmission mechanism to perform a linear motion to press the control lever so as to regulate the gas flow rate of the valve body automatically.
 2. The gas control knob in accordance with claim 1, wherein the motor has a drive worm protruding from the fixing bracket, and the transmission mechanism includes a shaft mounted on the fixing bracket, and a transmission worm rotatably mounted on the shaft and having an end provided with a transmission wormwheel meshing with and rotated by the drive worm of the motor.
 3. The gas control knob in accordance with claim 2, wherein the fixing bracket has a periphery provided with two spaced pivot ears each formed with a pivot hole, and the shaft of the transmission mechanism is mounted between the two pivot ears of the fixing bracket and has two ends each mounted in the respective pivot hole of the fixing bracket.
 4. The gas control knob in accordance with claim 2, wherein when the motor is started, the drive worm is driven to rotate the transmission wormwheel which rotates the transmission worm so that the motor is operated in a wire control manner or a remote control manner to drive and rotate the transmission worm.
 5. The gas control knob in accordance with claim 2, wherein the fixing bracket has a top plate provided with a bushing having an upper end formed with a rotation hole and a lower end formed with a limit hole, and the linear displacement mechanism includes: a movable member movably mounted in the limit hole of the fixing bracket and movable to press or release the control lever; a rotation shaft rotatably mounted in the rotation hole of the fixing bracket and having a lower end provided with a co-axial lead screw screwed into the movable member to drive the movable member to move axially in the limit hole of the fixing bracket by rotation of the rotation shaft; a driven wormwheel meshing with and rotated by the transmission worm; a spring mounted on the rotation shaft and having a lower end secured to and driven by the driven wormwheel and an upper end secured to an upper end of the rotation shaft to drive and rotate the rotation shaft.
 6. The gas control knob in accordance with claim 5, wherein the upper end of the rotation shaft protrudes from the bushing of the fixing bracket.
 7. The gas control knob in accordance with claim 5, wherein the upper end of the rotation shaft is provided with an enlarged cover, and the upper end of the spring is secured to the enlarged cover of the rotation shaft so that the rotation shaft is driven and rotated by the spring.
 8. The gas control knob in accordance with claim 7, wherein the upper end of the rotation shaft is provided with a push button located above the enlarged cover.
 9. The gas control knob in accordance with claim 5, wherein the driven wormwheel is rested on the bushing of the fixing bracket.
 10. The gas control knob in accordance with claim 5, wherein the driven wormwheel has a central portion formed with a through hole rotatably mounted on the rotation shaft.
 11. The gas control knob in accordance with claim 5, wherein the movable member has an inside formed with a screw bore screwed onto the lead screw of the rotation shaft.
 12. The gas control knob in accordance with claim 5, wherein the limit hole of the fixing bracket has a side formed with an axially extended flattened face, and the movable member has a side formed with an axially extended flattened face rested on the flattened face of the limit hole of the fixing bracket so that the movable member is limited in the limit hole of the fixing bracket without rotation.
 13. The gas control knob in accordance with claim 5, wherein the bushing of the fixing bracket is extended to the control lever.
 14. The gas control knob in accordance with claim 5, wherein the limit hole of the fixing bracket has a dimension greater than that of the rotation hole.
 15. The gas control knob in accordance with claim 1, wherein the fixing bracket has a side formed with a mounting hole, and the motor is mounted in the mounting hole of the fixing bracket.
 16. The gas control knob in accordance with claim 1, further comprising a protective hood mounted on the top of the fixing bracket to encompass the transmission mechanism and the linear displacement mechanism.
 17. The gas control knob in accordance with claim 8, further comprising a protective hood mounted on the top of the fixing bracket to encompass the transmission mechanism and the linear displacement mechanism.
 18. The gas control knob in accordance with claim 17, wherein the protective hood has a top plate formed with a passage to allow passage of the push button. 